Proceedings of the 2008 Industrial Engineering Research Conference J. Fowler and S. Mason, eds.

THE TECHNICAL RACONTEUR: WHAT LISTENERS WANT

Gene Dixon Department of Engineering East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA Abstract
Presenters are egocentric. They like to be heard, understood, and, most of all, remembered. Presentations are about communicating messages so that audiences pay attention, understand, and remember. This paper summarizes essential and consistently stated areas of concentration and preparation that lead to effective presentations. 1. Introduction Rhetoric is the art of using and placing words effectively. Howell and Bormann [1] state that the essence of rhetoric is to take information already in mind and artistically fashion it for a specific audience and occasion. Aristotle provided the Classical Rhetorical Canons for speakers of all ages [2] [3]. Canon 1: Invention: the planning what you are going to say. Effective speakers find a way to apply the three a presentation is organized and structured (or arrange). Most presentations begin with an introduction, continue with a body, and end with a conclusion. Canon 3: Style: involves word choice, tone, and attitude. Canon 4: Memory: the ability to use your brains innate capabilities to retain information so that you can recall items when you need them. Aristotle was a proponent of memorized speech. Canon 5: Delivery: involves how you project yourself and your presentation. Delivery involves physical gestures, vocal inflections, facial expressions, eye contact, and other nonverbal types of communication. All public speakers use some degree of rhetoric, mostly unwittingly. In adapting these canons six types of public speakers emerge. 1.1 Preachers Schrager [4] states that preachers are the best public speakers. Beam [5], a preacher and preacher trainer, teaches that good sermons apply the three Aristotelian appeals. Credibility, or ethos, influences the extent to which a message transmits a well-informed position on the issue. Ethos is often based on the reputation of, or instant rapport developed by, the speaker. Rationality, or logos, represents the body of logic and reason included in the argument. A rational argument presents the reason or justification for taking some. Emotionality, or pathos, refers to the affective content transmitted by the message. Emotional arguments attract attention and bring persuasion to the audience by making issues real and imminent. Beam also emphasizes the value of triads in teaching what he calls persuasive speech. Triads are groups of three points, subpoints and descriptive phraseologies. M. L. Kings I Had a Dream speech made extensive use of triads. The concepts of ethos, logos and pathos form a triad. 1.2 Lawyers Schrager [4] compares lawyers to performers and for him the jury trial, from beginning to end, is an artfully performed event. The lawyers part is to perform a story that gives jurors a convincing account of their shared circumstances, their unvoiced dreads, their evocable faith. Good lawyers meld stories to take advantage of plotlines already deeply embedded in listeners minds, to mythic narratives whose familiar moves reveal how the world is and how people, faced with fateful choices, act for good or for ill. 1.3 Rhetoricians Rhetoricians paint verbal pictures as well as any artist does with paint. True rhetoricians are masters of power vocabulary, clarity, specificity, accuracy, clarity, and lucidity. Unfortunately, rhetoricians are being replaced by thirty-second sound bites. 1.4 Humorists Samuel Clemens was a humorist, a master of exaggeration and surprise. Humor can be found in any exaggeration leading to surprise. Effective humor requires that both rational and emotional ideas be communicated clearly,

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quickly, and with military precision. According to Beam [5], humor is best used by public speakers to relieve tension. 1.5 Raconteurs Raconteurs are persons adept at telling stories or anecdotes by painting word pictures that address lifes realities. Raconteurs use real people in real placesthey personalize a story so that its totally believable. Raconteurs create vivid images within their audiences imagination. 1.6 Technical presenters Presentational speaking is a type of rhetoric where the technical communicator helps the audience understand the importance and relevance of the subject material and gets their agreement [2]. There are three basic Patterns for Technical Presentations [1]. First, the scientific problem-solving pattern is used when the problem is complicated and the audience is either hostile to, or unfamiliar with the facts involved. Second, state-the-case-and-prove-it is a straightforward development of a central thesis by supporting elements each of which begins with a topic sentence followed by supporting material. In other words, tell em what youre going to tell em, tell em, and then tell em what you told em. The third pattern, psychological-progression is a process that consists of: (a) arousing, (b) dissatisfying, (c) gratifying, (d) picturing, and (e) moving. 2. The Technical Presentation Albert Einsteins rule: If you cant say it simply, you probably dont have anything to say. And if you cant say it simply, you dont know your subject. applies to technical presentations [12]. What an audience at a technical conference wants is a speaker who talks about the highlights of his/her paper in a direct, conversational style. From that point of view, presentations are a product. The product is manufactured using a process that begins with selection and ends with delivery. Unlike a typical product however, creating a presentation is an interactive process, moving back and forth between the purpose, timeline, introduction, body, and conclusion [2]. When developing your presentation, remember to keep it: clear by avoiding complicated sentences and cryptic words; logical with ideas that flow logically and sequentially; and; objective, i.e., avoid editorializing [7]. At a technical conference the audience contains intelligent professional who themselves will have skills at presenting and are expecting you, the presenter, to provide a presentation that is interesting, well organized and informative. They have little patience for a speaker who is not prepared, who uses poor-quality visuals or, commits the cardinal sin of reading their paper [7] [8]. 2.1 Selection/Invention If reporting on documented research or theory, the topic selection and analysis is complete and the body of your presentation should simply highlight the technical paper or article [7]. 2.2 Purpose Preparation starts with a clear written statement of purposewhat the presentation is to accomplish. Keep the audience in mind as you develop the presentations purpose, what do they expect and need. Be specific about the goals and objectives of the presentation. Curak [2] identifies two common problems with presentations, an unclear purpose or too many purposes. A written purpose addresses the first problem. Faithfully adhering to time limit helps with the second as it forces you to consider only the most important and relevant information. 2.3 Allocate time The next stage is to develop a preliminary stage-time timeline. The timeline is the first step of organizing the presentation. Make an initial apportionment of allotted time for each goal and objective identified with the purpose. Table 1 provides an overview of organization principles. Complete the preliminary timeline by apportioning time for the introduction and conclusion. A timeline provides an early draft of the presentation outline. Initially, it serves as the organization tool. The more organized and prepared you are, the more your audience will accept you as a credible presenter [2]. Integrating one of the three basic Patterns for Technical Presentations will provide further structure at this early stage. 2.4 Hard Preparation This stage of the presentation development refers to fleshing out the presentation. Hard preparation includes research and analysis, body development, conclusion development and introduction development. Research and analysis provide the ethical basis for the presentation. During hard preparation is also a time to limit scope;

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determine the central idea; find the basis of division for the main points; identify supporting points with which to reinforce main points and identify tables or graphs that may prove useful as visuals [7]. Part of the hard preparation is audience adaptation. Audience adaptation is a process of casting spoken words to the written text. Spoken words are the key to controlling audience reaction to the purpose, goals and objectives you have established [1]. Cicerios dictum that the speaker should not be out of harmony with the language of everyday life, and the accepted usage of men of ordinary taste and intelligence seems to be borne out by the practice of effective speakers [2] [3]. Audience adaptation, or bridge building, creates a common understanding between you and your audience. Salespeople do this by converting a prospects wants to needs. Preachers have demonstrated skills to bridge wide gaps between wants and needs through ever-more persuasive speech [5]. Lawyers provide experiential relevance using stories and anecdotes to bridge wants and needs. For technical presentations, bridging requires relevant information. To be relevant information must be critical i.e., immediate use or useable before irrelevant, i.e., when does the value of the information perish [1]. Churchill is reported to have spent hours on audience adaptation, mentally and vocally combining specific words and integrating phrases to form sentences of poetic power to ensure the audiences acceptance. Table 1. Presentation Organization [1]. Unified - each main point relates logically to the central theme Coherent - the various parts of the message cluster together. Relevant present only ideas and information clearly related to the purpose Concise - not repetitious, deal with each topic in a comprehensive fashion and only once except for emphasis during summaries or conclusions Comprehensive - covers all relevant, important topics relating to the purpose Curak [2] suggests that planning begins with knowing how to end. During the conclusion, your audience will decide if they will act. This foreknowledge should provide clarity to the entire presentation. For Aristotle, a conclusion should: (1) gain support for the presenters position and against any opposing positions; (2) remind the audience of the main subject; (3) give the audience an emotional jolt; as it, (4) summarizes actions required and benefits of acting [2] [7]. A strong conclusion will restate main points of the presentation and make an appeal for action. Part of knowing how to end is knowing when to end. Presenters speak at a rate of about 110-120 words per minute and a slide must be seen from half a minute to a minute for visual cueing. Turner [8] suggests one minute for the slide plus one minute for 100 words of verbal explanation. Using this guide, a fifteen-minute presentation will have five slides and one thousand words. Audience adaptation is also a good time to consider what you would say if speaking time were cut in half. Contingency planning of this type vividly indicates what are the truly important parts of the presentation. And, all audiences appreciate any speaker who runs under her or his allotted time. Knowing how to end is a precursor for knowing how to start. a speaker is given very few moments to convince her/his audience that she/he really does have something to say [9]. The introduction is the best opportunity you will have to capture your audiences attention (Table 2). It is important during the introduction to give the audience a reason to listen (logos) based on your expertise, an indication of why (ethos) they should listen to youa taste of things to come; and, a hook to hold their attention (pathos). Table 2. Capturing Attention [2]. Begin with a story. Draw upon a recent event. Connect with ideas your audience cares about. Ask relevant, compelling questions of your audience Relate a personal story or anecdote. Compliment your audience. Create suspense or dissonance Share an epigram. 2.5 Soft preparation: presentation aids

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Start designing your visuals during audience-adaptation [7]. When considering presentation aids there is one overriding rule: keep it simple, the presentation aid is not the message [1]. Noting that most presentation aids are visuals, Morrison and Vogel [10] have found that visuals lead to improvements in attention, agreement, comprehension and retention. Presenters who use visuals are perceived as better prepared, more professional, more persuasive, and more credible than those who do not. According to Williams [11], visuals should represent data in a minimal number of images with a minimal number of instants of perception to evoke a maximum amount of meaning. Graphic designers employ what is called visual cueing. For instance, since readers assign the greatest importance to the top and left-hand portion of the page, graphic designers employ formats that utilize and facilitate left-to-right, top-to-bottom movement. Each visual should be created with the same visual cueing pattern. Readers are sensitive to recurring themes and structural redundancy in sensory experiences. Once visual cues and formats are established, the reader quickly becomes accustomed to and anticipates the visual hierarchy. Visual cueing serves as a foundation for processing and storing future information. Table 3 provides guides for visual cueing in designing visual aids. Presentation software, while a powerful aid, tempts presenters to be unprepared or, at best, under-prepared [2]. The trap occurs when presenters spend too much time developing software bells and whistles. Software use can cause presenters to be more inclined to talk to the screen as they make sure the software is working. Another danger in the use of software and particularly pictures is the pitfall of projectionwhen the speaker assumes the audience will read into a picture the same meaning the speaker sees in it [1]. Clip-art is often used in visual aids. These inserts make information easier for your audience to understand. Use clip-art as visuals analogies to represent abstract concepts. Avoid overuse that leads to distraction. Table 3. Guidelines for Visuals [2] [6] [7] [8] [10] [11] Keep visuals simple. No typed lists. No computer printouts. No pages from a book. Title each visual. Avoid a preponderance of labelsyou can explain your visuals when you speak. Not too many, not too few. Err on the side of many slides with minimal text/images. Display each 30-60 seconds. High-level information should be cued with the largest type size and the darkest color. Use a single, readable family of fonts such as Arial, Times Roman or Helvetica and that matches the mood of the presentation. Bold text for variety and emphasis. Underlining decreases readability Start with a font size of 16 points (1/36 inches) or larger. Letters should project at one-half inch for every 10 feet between the visual and the farthest audience member. Make headings at least 2 points larger than the body type. Used mixed case. Mixed case is more readable than all capitals. Upper case printing occupies 27-35% more space and retards reading speed by as much as 12%. Use 6-8 words per line, max.; 6-7 lines per idea; one idea per slide. Space between the lines improves readability. Accent with color to focus attention and retention and reinforce the message. Limit color to two or three colors per visualdiscounting photo slides. If you must use visuals, use charts and tables only after giving considerable attention to projectability. Bar charts are useful to illustrate trends and comparisons of time-based or costing information; horizontal bar graphs are used for data with lengthy labels [1] [2] [12]. Line graphs are used to illustrate trends. Pie charts, the least useful form of charting, should be used only to illustrate the relationship of parts to a wholebegin at the 12 oclock position and use only six or seven slices. Scatter plots are useful for displaying non-temporal data. As a general rule, graphs are better aids than tables as they present relationships visually in terms readily understood [1]. One technical communicator noted that spreadsheets or tables containing too much information are probably the worst type of visual aid, because the audience can never take in all of those columns and rows [2]. 2.6 Practice Rehearsing a technical presentation is essential. The best rehearsal is accomplished under the same conditions as the actual presentationjust like candidates rehearsing for a presidential debateunder circumstances that permit practicing aloud without fear of disturbing others. A speaker must be free to try out effects, to move as he might in actual presentation, to concentrate without interruption. Your rehearsal is most effective when done in the same place, using the same presentation aids, and at the same time of day as the actual presentation.

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2.6 Delivery. Delivery is a many faceted part of presenters repertoire. Those facets include ethos, auditory cueing, audience involvement and manner. Table 4 summarizes some basic delivery skills. Ethos is part of how an audience determines whether or not to accept the presenters message. Ethos is projected from the very moment the presenter enters the room, and the presenters ethos is extremely powerful: if the presenter appears to be unlikable, his or her message will not be heard [2]. If the speaker appears hesitant, unsure of words, or apologetic, he is likely to seem indecisive, not in command of himself and his subject; as a result his chances for persuasion are lessened. Boylan [6] encourages presenters to communicate honestly, tactfully, and respectfully, in a way that earns the audiences permanent respect not their temporary affection. Memory is related to ethos, because the more you know your material, the more credible and understandable you will be to your audience. To the inexperienced speaker, notes in the hand seem to offer reassurance, but they can easily become a crutch that retards progress instead of furthering it [3]. Table 4. Basic Presentation Delivery Skills [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] [20] Be focused. Learn your audience in advance and speak to their special needs. Be quiet. Avoid talking continuously while displaying a visual; audiences cant absorb information from two sources simultaneously. Offer enough explanation to make visuals understandable. Be a Good Listener. Audiences ask questions; listen carefully and respectfully. Be enthusiastic and passionate. Passion is infectious, Enthusiasm is catching. The audience will see you as credible, competent, and as someone who cares. Be on Time. Promptness gains the audiences confidence right from the outset. Keep it by stopping on time. Be Sincere. Sincerity is always your best bet. Sincerity is displayed with body language, tone, and word choice. Be Professional. Dress based on the audience, the presentations purpose and how you wish to be accepted. Be Empathetic. Eye contact makes the message personal and generates empathy. Maintaining eye contact is essential to the conversational quality of speech. Be Controlled. Everyone tends to speed up and raise his voice while speaking. Both are a mistake. Be Adaptable. If you pay close attention to your audience members and their expressions (interested or puzzled) and body language (paying attention or fidgeting) youll sense whether you need to adapt your original presentation. Be Alive. Facial expressions can bring excitement and energy to your subject. Determine and use your natural style of gesture, then learn to what extent your style is distracting by feedback from people and adjust accordingly. Movement has three levels: nervous, uncoordinated but personality consistent, and choreographed executed with sincerity. Plan gestures and movements based on the audience, the presentations purpose and how you wish to be accepted, just dont be stilted. Guard against unintentional or unconscious motionsswaying back and forth or pacing aimlessly. Use postures that convey a message of involvement with the message and comfort with the surroundings. Avoid the following postures: stooped with hands in pocket, crotch protecting (hands together in front) and dislocated hip. Be Thoughtful. To avoid distractions, try saving handouts until the very end. Or, if you want your audience to take notes on the handouts as you go along, distribute the handouts before starting your presentation. List references on your slides as you would in a written paper. Provide a handout with full citations. Be Heard. One expert suggests that there are three main factors you can concentrate on to improve vocal quality: proper posture, relaxed neck and shoulder muscles, and breath support (deep breaths give you the air you need to speak fully and clearly). Lowering the pitch along with intensifying the volume helps to keep the throat from tightening and consequently becoming strained. Besides being heard, the speaker must make certain that he can be understood. His speech must be distinct if audiences are to follow his thought easily. Another facet of delivery is auditory cueing. Speakers provide variations in delivery and announce changes, or transitions, through the use of oral organizational devicespreviews, summaries and transitions [2]. Like a table of contents to readers, auditory cues give the audience a road map of the presentation, where theyve been, where they are and where you are taking them. Transition to your conclusion by returning to the story or quotation you used during your introduction [2] [7]. Audience involvement is a powerful facet of delivery. When your purpose as presenter melds with your audiences purpose as listeners, involvement occurs. You have just entered the high art form of dialogue. When dialogue

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occurs, you, the presenter, may be silent for long periods, even to the point of becoming group facilitator, moderating participation rather than initiating. Seek out dialogue and cherish the moments when it occurs. A basic principle to help the speaker plan audience involvement is never do yourself what members of your audience can do as well. The result is a two-way communication that is clearer and more pleasurable than a one-way message a team spirit tends to emerge as you and your audience pool efforts to make the presentation a success [1]. Manner is what thespians call stage presence. It is related to ethos as it conveys the speakers attitudes and disposition. Manner can easily reinforce your message and purpose and just as distract from them and lessen their effect. As a speaker you should enter your stage in an assured, easy manner, look at your audience, and pause for a moment to get set and allow listeners to get set also. Your audience will start deciding if they will listen to you from their first sighting. Energetic delivery is required but that does not mean ranting or vocal violence; it can be low-pitched and intense, restrained, even understated [3]. Use the active voice, short sentences and simple language [2]. To be heard and understood, you will may need to increase your usual volume, lengthen some of your pauses, and accentuate slightly your patterns of ordinary speech, but not so far as to be unrecognizable to those who know you. Speaking demands a heavy but controlled expenditure of energy. Guard against artificiality as sincerity is vital to your purpose and to the effectiveness of your presentation. When your manner causes the audience to think, Hes not putting on; hes for real,, you have impressed them and strengthened the power of your presentation [3]. 3. Conclusions The title of this paper was selected to make one final point, engineers take themselves far too seriously. A careful read indicates that of the six speaker types, only technical communicators are not associated with stories. Stories add social responsibility and personal judgment to technical information by illustrating applications and issues. Stories are conversational and audiences at technical conference want conversations, not just lectures. By encouraging usage of the raconteurs skills into everyday activities and especially technical presentations, it is supposed engineers will be perceived as something other than storage devices for pocket protectors. Why not give it a try? It is what listeners want. References 1. Howell, W. S., and E. G. Bormann (1971). Presentational Speaking for Business and the Professions, Harper and Row. 2. Curak, L. J. (2000). Oral Presentations for Technical Communications, Allyn and Bacon. 3. Aly, B. and L. F. Aly (1973). A Rhetoric of Public Speaking, McGraw-Hill Book. 4. Schrager, S. (1999). The Trial Lawyers Art, Temple University Press, Philadelphia. 5. Beam, Joe (1993). Persuasive Speech, Personal Communication, Summer. 6. Boylan, B. (1995). Get Everyone in Your Boat Rowing in the Same Direction, Adams Media Corporation, Holbrook, MA. 7. Technical Presentations (1984). Toastmasters International Incorporated. 8. Turner, B. T. (1974), Effective Technical Writing and Speaking, Business Books Limited, London. 9. The First Five Minutes (2000). in Dr. James Dobsons Bulletin, Carol Stream, IL., Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., November, v13, n10. 10. Morrison, J. and D. Vogel (1998). The impacts of presentation visuals on persuasion, Information and Management, Elsevier Science Ltd, v33, p125-135. 11. Williams, T. (1993). Text or Graphic: An Information Processing Perspective on Choosing The More Effective Medium, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, v23n1, p33-52. 12. Kostelnick, Charles (1998). Conflicting Standards for Designing Data Displays: Following, Flouting, and Reconciling Them, Technical Communication, Fourth Quarter.